The Lancet has today launched a new series that has relevance to our current discussion on 'How can decision-making processes for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage be made more inclusive, responsive and accountable?' Extracts and a comment from me below.
Political Science and Health: this Series seeks not only to call attention to the importance of political science in health but to show how new ways of looking at global health policymaking can offer a fairer and healthier path forward that better reflects the changing world we live in.
Executive Summary
Many have reflected on the impact politics had on covid-19 and how the world dealt with the pandemic. The Political Science and Health Series explores three areas that demonstrate how political science interacts and informs matters of health. From why some health issues become topics of international concern, while others fail to gain traction to the politics of universal health coverage and how global health diplomacy works. The Series seeks not only to call attention to the importance of political science in health but to show how new ways of looking at global health policymaking can offer a fairer and healthier path forward that better reflects the changing world we live in.
Three papers and two comments open the debate and all are available at: https://www.thelancet.com/series/political-science-and-health?dgcid=rave...
PAPERS
Framing and the formation of global health priorities. Shiffman et al.
The politics of universal health coverage. Ho et al.
Global health diplomacy—reconstructing power and governance. Kickbusch et al.
COMMENT
Political science and global health policy. Gómez et al.
How can engagement with political science and international relations for health be improved? Stoeva
Tha above URL also has an interesting panel discussion including Richard Horton and contributors. One specific example of an anomaly caught my ear and I am not sure it was answered: why is there such strong political support for access to antiretrovirals but less so for insulin and opiate pain relief? I'd be interested to hear from HIFA members. Notwithstanding, it is worth recognising (as emphasised by Sfhiffman) that political support for different issues is highly contingent - subject to change with time and place. Many HIFA members will remember that in the 1990s the idea of universal access to retroviral medicines was novel and controversial. How times have changed.
Best wishes, Neil
Joint Coordinator, HIFA SUPPORT-SYSTEMS
https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is global coordinator of the HIFA global health movement (Healthcare Information For All - www.hifa.org ), a global community with more than 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting on six global forums in four languages in official relations with WHO. HIFA brings stakeholders together to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information.
Twitter: @hifa_org neil@hifa.org
